


Sword Geeks

by Kiloueka



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-21 02:59:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16151123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiloueka/pseuds/Kiloueka
Summary: 2B and 9S visit Masamune to fix her sword and she and the blacksmith end up geeking out about all sorts of weapons.





	Sword Geeks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MeetTheTank](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeetTheTank/gifts).



“Shit!” 2B hissed as the tip of Virtuous Contract snapped off in the body of a hostile machine.

“2B!” 9S called out from behind a goliath biped he was hacking. “Are you ok?”

“Yes, my sword just broke.” 2B grumbled and ran the intact piece through the machine, calling an end to their short but frustrating battle. She cracked the fallen machine open and fished the broken pieces out of its body and held them out to 9S.

“Oh, damn... it looks pretty bad.” He observed. “We can head over to that machine blacksmith's place and get it fixed.”

“Good idea.” She nodded.

 

“Ah, you've returned.” Masamune greeted them as they entered the forge. “I sense that something terrible has befallen your white sword.” He said to 2B.

“Yes.” She nodded. “It shattered on the reinforced body of an enemy.”

“You should take better care of your weapons.” He said. “Treat them as an extension of your body.”

“She is!” 9S snapped but 2B put her hand out.

"9S." She huffed. "We fight countless battles with these weapons. Even with the best care, accidents are bound to happen. Can you fix it?"

“Very well.” He sighed. “Lay the pieces on the table and I'll see what I can do.”

She nodded and pulled the broken parts from her bag and as she was laying them out her eye caught the glint of the cooling weapon on his anvil.

“Is that a bardiche?” She gasped, 9S looked in surprise at the excited tone of her voice.

"Why yes, it is." Masamune nodded. "You know of them?"

"Yes!" She nodded excitedly, but stopped and lowered her voice. "Yes, I have researched ancient human weapons in my spare time. It's... a hobby of mine. I haven't seen one of these in person, only ancient photos from museum collections."

“Ah. Well, if you are interested, I do have a museum of sorts myself behind this door if you would like to look at my collection.”

"Yes. Yes, that would be nice." 2B nodded eagerly.

“Whoa, what hold on 2B.” 9S gasped, pulling her aside. “He's still a machine, remember? This could be a trap.”

“I don't care.” She said flatly. “I slice him clean in two with Virtuous Treaty if he tries anything.”

“But you really want to risk it over some swords?”

“That's a bardiche.”

“Er... yeah.”

“9S. It's fine. We... it could be an opportunity to collect information on the enemy's weapon arsenals. It would be wise to gather as much intel as we can.

“Hmm... if you say so.” He shrugged and they turned back to the blacksmith.

“Please. Show us your collection.”

“Very well.” He placed the bardiche to the side and hobbled over to the ancient, oak door and pried it open.

2B's breath caught in her throat as she caught a glimpse of the contents of the large room. She bounded forward with a spring in her step as the three descended the narrow staircase.

The inside of the room was completely packed full of all sorts of ancient weapons. Every inch of the wall space was covered and there were dozens of displays in the center of the room as well as lining the many pillars holding the ancient ceiling up.

She ran up to the nearest display and circled around it, looking up and down each weapon carefully. 9S took care to stay nearby and keep a lookout for any potential dangers... well... other than the hundreds of weapons surrounding them.

“2B's head spun around the room as she seemed to try to look at every weapon at once. She almost danced from display to display before stopping and staring at the far wall.

"Damn, that's a lot of spears." 9S marveled at a line of a hundred or so standing up against it.

“Actually, 9S.” 2B straightened herself up as she looked to where he was staring. “Only two of those are true spears.”

“Huh?”

2B shook her head and walked over and held up a finger to the furthest one. "Naginata. Poleaxe. Fauchard. Dinka. Bardiche. Bardiche. Voulge. Spear. Poleaxe. Lance. Pike. Halberd..." She went on like that down the entire assembly of pole weapons. Masamune approached them and occasionally nodded along to 2B's listing until she reached the end.

“Aaand another glaive.” She turned to the blacksmith. “These aren't in any particular order, are they?”

“Ah, they are placed in the order they were obtained by my master.” Masamune replied. “He carved the information on where and when he collected them on the stones behind them.”

“Ah.” 2B nodded and stepped forward to squint at the inscriptions in the dim light. She seemed to read the impossibly tiny writing riddled with strange weapon names with surprising ease and 9S had trouble keeping up with her as she walked down the line reading every inscription.

“These are all amazing.” She said as she reached the end... again. “Your master must have spent a long time collecting them.”

“Yes, he has.” Masamune nodded. “It's been sixty-eight years since he brought the first three here.” He pointed to the Naginata, then a sword on the opposite wall and the one next to it.

“I see.” 2B walked over to the two swords at the beginning of the long line of them. “What an interesting weapon.” 2B marveled at the large, black and silver sword. It extended straight out from the hilt, starting fairly narrow and widening out at the end. The flat edge was tipped with a claw-like hook and similar points came out from the bladed side at regular intervals, attached from all the way back on the black spine. She held her hand out and lightly ran her finger down the side of the blade. “May I?”

“Yes, yes just be careful not to hit anything with it.”

2B nodded and removed it from its stand and weighed it in her hands before striking out at the air several times in a mock battle.

“It's very light, but it doesn't seem that sturdy.”

“You would be right.” He nodded. “The original owner who had it created had no intention of using it in battle. It seemed to be created as a status symbol rather than a tool of war, especially since it was created long after the last humans used swords in battle.”

“Why would you make a weapon you can't fight with?” 2B asked, confused.

“Humans can be strange sometimes.” 9S shrugged. “Maybe it was created as a gift for someone's lover?”

“Gifts are unnecessary.”

“Augh.” 9S grunted.

“Was this also created as a status symbol?” 2B had immediately moved on to the enormous broadsword next to the toothed sword. It was roughly as tall as 2B and thicker than her outstretched palm. It jutted out straight from the wide, gold hilt and ended in a sharp point at the back side of the sword. It seemed to be reinforced with another short strip of metal and... holes... two holes at the center of the base.

“Ah, yes.” Masamune nodded. “That one is quite fragile and I am amazed it held up as long as it did.”

“I see.” 2B hummed. “And the others?” She gestured around the entire room.

“Most are older than these and have been used by actual fighters, but there are quite a few decorative ones in here too.”

2B placed the sword back on the stand and moved to the next odd-looking one. She and Masamune spent hours in that room talking about each and every one of the weapons. 9S struggled to follow along as the two experts tossed out words he's never heard before, so he decided to focus his attention more on her and how differently she held herself and talked in this room.

It was... nice... seeing her so open... despite him not really knowing what she was talking about half the time. He could swear he saw a smile grace her face every once in a while too. He secretly thanked himself for not pushing harder to avoid coming in here.

“What is _this_?" 2B asked as they arrived at a large, oddly-shaped club. The entire thing looked like a fang of an enormous beast with a simple, flimsy handle drilled into the tip.

“A replica of a club made from a dragon fang... er... well the replica looks to be wood but the club it was inspired by was a weapon made from the fang of a dragon.”

“A dragon?”

“Yes, there are legends dragons existed long, long ago, but none were described as big enough to have a fang as large as this.”

"I see." She murmured. "and what about this one." She pointed to a blue-green greatsword to her left. It had a frosty patterning inside it and intricate designs carved on the blade. The hilt looked to be made of brass and had equally intricate designs where it attached to the blade. A smaller portion of the hilt continued part way up the blade in a crisscross pattern.

"Ah yes, that certainly is an interesting one. The blade is made entirely of glass but the original was said to have been created from the tailspike of a paledrake. It's rumored to glow in the moonlight, but I have yet to have it taken to the Kingdom of Night to test that theory. It was also said to have magical properties, but I have yet to see anything unusual about it."

As they neared the end of the collection, 2B's eye caught a beam of sunlight in a small room half concealed by a large stand.

“What's that?” She asked.

“Ah... that is our most curious weapon.” Masamune responded and slid through the small opening. “Come, come.”

The two Androids followed him in the dimly-lit room covered in vines and plant life... one of which looked like a small sapling with an odd face on it. In the center, illuminated by a single sunbeam was a silvery longsword with almost a blueish glow to it embedded in a small pedestal. Its purple and green-laced hilt started with a simple pommel and ended with a semi-fancy guard that looked almost like outstretched wings. Carved on the base of the flat blade was an emblem of three triangles, one stacked on the other two. It certainly was a beautiful weapon, but it exuded a strange aura he couldn't quite tell was good or bad.

“Legends about this weapon say it can only be pulled from its pedestal by its true master when darkness covers the land. Only then can they battle against a dark beast to restore order to this world. My master was unable to remove it from its pedestal, so he had this entire cavern moved here for me to protect until the hero returns.”

“But... wouldn't 'The Hero' be a human?” 9S asked. “They're all on the moon.”

“As it would seem.” Masamune nodded. “Perhaps that is why this war has gone on for so long. Or perhaps this war is not the darkness talked about in the legend.”

“I see.” Said 2B quietly, eyes still locked on the glistening sword. She slowly walked up to it and held her hand out but stopped.

“May I?” She asked.

“Yes, you may... just don't expect much.”

“I don't. I just feel like I should try.” She hummed and wrapped one hand, and then the other around the grip. She took a deep breath and pulled up but instantly her body jolted and she released her grip and stumbled back. 9S ran out to catch her but she steadied herself before he reached her.

“What the hell was that?” 2B gasped.

“The sword has rejected you as its master.” Masamune hummed. “That was an odd reaction, however; my master and I simply were unable to remove it. Perhaps it has a different effect on Androids.”

“Strange.” 2B murmured and stared at the sword for a moment longer and leaving the room. 9S ran after her and stayed close to her side as they reentered the hall.

“Are you ok, 2B?” He asked.

“I'm fine. It was a small shock, more startling than painful.”

“Oh, I'm glad then.”

She stopped and turned to him. He jumped back slightly at her sudden movements, unsure if he said something wrong or what. He couldn't get a read on her expression in the dim light especially under the cover of her visor.

“...Thank you... for your concern though.” She said and he could swear he saw a slight uptick in her lips as she spoke.

“Oh... anytime. I'm here to provide support, remember?” He smiled.

“Anyway...” She continued. “We've been here long enough. Command's likely to send us more orders soon so we need to have my sword repaired quickly.” She turned to Masamune. “How long do you estimate it will take to repair it?”

“I would have to take a closer look at it to be accurate.” He said. “Come, we've been here long enough, I must get back to my duties, and it appears you two do too.”

“Yes, we spent more time than I expected we would here.” 2B murmured. “But it was very informative and I thank you for allowing us to view this room.

“You're quite welcome. It's not often that I run into someone as knowledgeable as swords as I am so I am always happy to share.”

2B nodded and followed the blacksmith back up the stairs with 9S in tow. As they reached the doorway, he stopped and smiled at the quiet room as plans of ordering a new weapon to surprise 2B with formed in his mind.

Giving gifts may be a useless ritual in 2B's opinion, but maybe with a replica of one of the swords in that room, he might be able to change her opinion.

 


End file.
